Chance me for elite schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

School Type: Model (public that you give exams to enter before 7th grade, thus very selective and competitive)
Location: Greece
Race/Gender: Greek female
Prospective Major: something STEM-oriented but i havent decided yet
In greece we are graded out of 20. I converted it to your system. I dont know what weighted gpa is, so i have not included it
Freshman year: 3.92/4 (19, 9/14 out of 20)
Sophomore yeaar: 3.94/4 (19,7 ot of 20)
Also, in Greece we have ths thing called the absence book where people who are absent are written down. Every year the best student or the best two students from each class take responsibility for the absence book. I have been responsible during all four years of highschool and will probably be for the next two years as well (in greece highschool is 7th-12th grade)
Class rank: school doesnt rank but im in the top 5%
Havent taken tests yet

Extracurricular Info

  • speaker of three languages: Greek (native speaker), English (C2 certificate), German (B2 certificate)
  • I have an article about school’s contribution to prevention of earthquakes published in a well known national scientific journal hosted by Science View (one of the biggest science communities in Greece and Europe)
  • 2018: participated in the 3rd Open Campus hosted in Philosophical School of Athens, which is part of the european project DESCI (Developing and Evaluating Skills for Creativity and Innovation)
  • 2018: took part in the Greek Student Parliament of Science and was voted to represent my country in the European Student Parliament of Science (July 2018, Toulouse)
  • 2017: participated in an conference hosted by the Hellenic-Italian union that took place in Naples
  • 2015-2018: 2 years 15-member school counsil, 2 years 5-member class counsil
  • 2014-2018: 4 years math club, 1 year psychology club, 1 year STEM club
  • 2006-2017: 11 years of classical ballet lessons, among with other dances including 3 years of contemporary dance, 3 years of modern dance, 3 years of greek traditional dance

Honours:

  • 2018: 2nd place in Scratch International Programming Trial SCRIPT 2018- online competition
  • 2018: 11th place in national Chemistry contest (out of about 1780 contestants)
  • 2018: 2nd place with the STEM team of my school in national “create your own seismograph” contest and was awarded at Athens Science Festival
  • 2014-2018: 4 excellence awards from my school (award that all students with very good gpas get), 1 award for coming first in my class
  • 2014-2018: national math competitions
  • 2017: second place in the international Purple Comet Math Meet contest (with the math team of my school)
  • 2016: first place in the international Purple Comet Math Meet contest (with the math team of my school)
  • 2014: first place in the exams to enter my school (1/ about 700) (i know its old but its considered a great accomplishment)

I will also represent my country in the European Student Parliamnet of Science in July 2018 (hasn’t happened yet, but is going to)
No job experience (will that hurt my application?)
Something about me (maybe will be included in my essays): I really love travelling, though I have been only twice abroad (soon to be three times) and all for participation in extra-curricular activities (not just for fun) etc. More specifically, I’ve been to Switzerland to visit CERN after my school being invited, to Italy to participate in the above mentioned conference hosted by the Hellenic-Italian Institution and will soon visit France to take part in the European Student Parliament of Sciece. Also, I have received almost no support from my family environment (apart from emotional support and affection. not to be ungrateful) due to the fact that i come from a low income family, and my parents have nothing to do with the field I’m interested in. Thus all I’ve done, I’ve done by myself with help from my teachers.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes

Due to the fact that im a sophomore, i will most prossibly keep doing those things. I know that without test scores you cant chance me, but you can tell me if im in the right direction or note something. Any comments will be helpful. Please dont tell me bout fincancial aid, i know how hard it will be i just need solid opinions on my stats. I’m aiming for highly selective elite schools. I know theyare reaches for everyone, I was just wondering if its worth giving a shot. I arleady have in mind some safeties and matches in my country, which I can easily enter, considering that our entering system is only about some tests, for which I’ve been practising and already doing well since this year ,meaning I have two more years ahead to get even better.
Thank you all in advance!

2

You are one of the strongest international candidates I can imagine. I feel like you have great ECs and awards, and you would bring a unique character to the university as an international student from Greece. The only concerns I have are probably that your awards are all exams/contests, and there is nothing project based or very interactive (except the representing your country at a conference, that’s incredible!!). This one thing about your app may make you a little less competitive than people from the US (or wherever you want to apply), as many people will have very involved and interactive ECs, not just contests. Try doing some projects/research, that’ll push you ahead a lot! And keep trying to get leadership positions like representing your country. That’ll boost you and make you super unique. BTW what schools do you have in mind??

3

@nvb123 Thank you very much for your response! Could you possibly give me some examples of interactive ECs? That would be extremely helpful. I dont have specific schools in mind, due to the fact that I have not decided on my major yet. This summer I will make up my mind about my major and then I will search for colleges with good programs on my field. However, I want to attend a selective, prestigious school, due to the fact I will have to leave my country. I have alternatives in Greece as well (we have amazing universities) if I dont make it in the US. Thanks again!

4

Sure, there’s a lot of interactive things you do to get more involved with a career path. First you need to narrow down the focus to what you want pursue as major though, because this allows you expand your knowledge like CRAZY in something. You want to build that “spike” in the field you are interested in. So, basically, I can’t completely identify exactly what your “interactive” ECs would be because idk your major, but I can give some examples:

For a science/pre-med STEM major: definitely get involved with a research project or some kind of immersive activity at a local (or distant) university (especially useful if you work with a research university). Try to present your project/research at high school research competitions and potentially write papers on them (this is tough, but it can be done!).

For an engineering/CS STEM major: get involved with a project at a university and collaborate with a professor on their research, similar to a bio major. Try to make your own project like making a computer program or building a robot. Potentially even start a robotics club at your school and compete in robotics competitions.

For a econ/finance major: try to work/intern for an investment firm or a financial organization in your area or abroad. I have a high school friend who does financial research for a company based in the Netherlands on educational financial access. Try doing a project like that, that’ll set you really apart, and you can expand your interests. Also get involved with the field; try exploring stocks and investing and how it works. When you write your app, you want to show that you have a strong understanding and interest in the field you are getting yourself into.

There a couple other majors (pre-law, fine arts, etc.), but it looks like you are headed in STEM direction, so I’ll leave it there for now. Please let me know if you have other questions!

5

Great work! All I have to add is that not working is definitely fine, though you may wish to do a lot of volunteer work, as colleges love that (though they tend to dislike it if you do it abroad because it conveys a message that you have wealth and don’t help your own community).

6

@nvb123 Thank you very much for your extremely helpful suggestions!

7

@SpareDare Thank you so much!

8

Based on your stats, you are a competitive applicant but you aren’t an outstanding applicant. You will need something to stand out, whether that be your essay or something else in your essay. If you are able to write an AMAZING essay, I think that you will remain competitive but like I said, you aren’t standing out enough for colleges like the Ivy League’s (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc). If you want to have any chance at the Ivy League schools, you will need to write an outstanding essay. Otherwise, remember that there are other good schools like Vanderbilt, UCLA, Stanford, etc.

9

@nvb123, thank you for taking the time to be so thorough and descriptive with your ec tips!

10

@IvyDreams13 thank you very much!